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The GOP and Democratic leadership overlooked -- snubbed, would be the more accurate term -- the Gang of Six when it picked the Senate half of the 12-member "super committee" that is charged with coming up with a $1.5 trillion savings plan by Thanksgiving.

If the committee can't agree or if Congress rejects their recommendation -- and either one is a good bet -- then $1.2 trillion in across-the-board cuts would automatically go into effect for fiscal 2013, which is only 14 months away.

At least that's the plan. Whether Congress can keep its nerve never once confronted with the impact of cuts of that magnitude remains to be seen. The current bold talk could remain to haunt many lawmakers, especially including the members of the super committee.

While it doesn't quite make them politically bulletproof, the Gang of Six had already affixed their signatures to a 10-year, $3.7 trillion deficit reduction plan. While the plan horrified extremes of both parties -- Democrats because it touched on entitlements, Republicans because it addressed tax hikes -- it was not rejected out of hand by the lawmakers who count.

Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican chairman of the House Budget Committee, found much not to like about the plan but said, "Nevertheless, the effort serves as a sign that we can work together on a bipartisan basis to make a serious down payment now to avert the debt-fueled economic crisis before us."

However, hardliners detected dangerous signs of moderation and reasonableness among the six and nixed their appointment to the committee. Now the 12 who made the cut are getting a whiff of what is in store for them.

Simply because it is the biggest chunk of the federal government's discretionary spending, the Pentagon is the biggest target for cuts. And the six Democrats and six Republicans represent states where some of the largest defense contractors employ tens of thousands of workers.

If the automatic cut kicks in, the Pentagon would take a 10-year, $500 billion hit on top of its share of an already-approved $350 billion in cuts, meaning some major weapons programs would have to be cut or scaled back. As the Associated Press notes, "That could translate into significant layoffs in a fragile economy, generate millions less in tax revenues for local governments and upend lucrative contracts with foreign nations."

It all seems so simple when addressing a crowd of hyped-up tea partyers. It will seem much less so when Defense secretary Leon Panetta starts talking, as he already has, about "doomsday" cuts to the nation's defense.

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